This is what La Heather has been told, your dogs are to go or you will lose your Kainga Ora (Housing New Zealand) home!

This is a desperate and very sad situation especially as there is a huge housing shortage and a dog crisis in Auckland!

La is a hardworking nurse and solo mother to her teenage son, and caregiver to her elderly mother. She has 2 sweet dogs, Nema aged 3 years and Sophie aged 9 months. She loves and cares for them the same as she does for her son and her elderly Mother. They all share a loving home together.

La Heather has done all the right things by Nema and Sophie who are dearly loved by herself, her son and her Mother.  She has registered, vaccinated and microchipped them and they are both booked in for desexing. Both of the girls are fully toilet trained.

Nema and Sophie are part of her whanau and provide company, emotional support and a sense of security for her elderly Mother while she is home alone during the day. Nema and Sophie are very loving, friendly and social. There have never been any complaints made against them.

La has a beautiful clean and tidy home she is proud of. All she wants is to continue living there with her family and their dogs. Sophie and Nema deserve to live out their lives in the caring environment they know and love.

KO has advised she must rehome them due to their breed determined by a KO officer as Pit Bull. A DNA test has not been done to determine their breed, and La's Veterinarian advised her that Nema was a Terrier cross and Sophie is a Shar Pei cross as evident by the photos. They definitely have more than one breed in them according to their appearance. Karen Batchelor, Registrar and Media Spokesperson for the American Pit Bull Terrier Breed Association of New Zealand states "Neither Sophie or Nema are Pit Bull breed dogs. I can see no Pit Bull characteristics in either dog." She will be writing a full report to this effect.

La has reached out to dog rescue/rehoming organisations to desperately try to find them a home which is proving extremely difficult as all dog rescues are overflowing.

She is devastated that they will end up in the Pound which will mean euthanasia for the Sophie and Nema.

This cruel choice of “pick your home or your dogs” is unjust and is causing extreme stress and anxiety for this whanau.

Please sign and share this urgent petition to save Nema and Sophie and to raise awareness about this tragic situation, not only for La, but many other whanau where they are given an ultimatum “Your Dog or Your Home”